Student Stories:Abe Garcia

Abe Garcia graduated from Schreiner in 2007 with a major in international business.

From Winning Player to Winning Coach"Soccer was the reason I came to Schreiner,” said Abe Garcia '07. “Coach Hayes got me here. I looked at a couple of schools and I really liked the atmosphere and the people at Schreiner.”

Just three years after graduation, Garcia, who majored in international business, seems to have made soccer a career. This is his second year as head coach for women’s soccer at Prairie View A&M. Nick Morrison ’09 is Coach Garcia’s new assistant. “I was the interim coach first,” Garcia said. “The school liked the progress we made and offered me the head coach job.” In 2009, Garcia took his team to the Southwestern Athletic Conference soccer tournament for the first time in the team’s history, where they advanced as far as the finals. This year they finished second in the conference. “The second year making it to conference is a big statement,” Garcia said. “We were one game away from playing LSU.”

Garcia said that in the past the team has not been able to compete outside the conference. However, this season started with two big preseason wins, over the University of North Texas and Lamar University, with the win over North Texas “by far the biggest,” according to Garcia.

And how’s that business degree working out?

“I’m becoming a great salesman,” Garcia said. “I’m learning to sell the school when I’m recruiting and speaking to people. I’m in charge of my budget and manage my players, so you can definitely say that the business skills I learned at Schreiner are very helpful.”

“I love Schreiner,” he added. “The professors were all great and helpful. I loved the Schreiner atmosphere and the scenery. People knew me as a person and not just a number and I knew everyone else, too. If I had it all to do over again, I’d go to Schreiner.”